Environments of poverty and what they mean for child protection

This paper explores the three-way relationship between poverty, the physical surroundings and children‘s exposure to maltreatment, drawing on research in a number of fields and on practical experience from various parts of the world. Child maltreatment is usually viewed in purely social terms. Yet an understanding of the effects of difficult living conditions and neighbourhood space can shed some light on the dynamics that connect poverty and maltreatment. The UN Convention on the Rights of the Child serves as an organising framework in reviewing the relationship between children and their environment.